Fully automatic upsetting machine

ABSTRACT

Upsetting machine, a kind of horizontal mechanical press, wherein a long-stock bar material including wire material being fed is successively cut to a sized material with a predetermined length in the first station, such a sized cut material is held by a transfer mechanism in the second station, the transfer mechanism positions the cut material directly in front of an upsetting die in the third station, the cut material is upset by the die and a punch, the upset formed article is removed from the die, and thus the entire operation is performed fully automatically in a single machine.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,831,41 1 Sakai et al. Aug. 27, 1974 FULLY AUTOMATIC UPSETI'ING [56] References Cited MACHINE UNITED STATES PATENTS [75] Inventors: Hiroshi Sakai; Hisateru Yamashita; 927,514 7/1909 Eden, Jr l0/ll G Toshihiro Tanaka, of Komatsu 2,017,341 10/1935 Cummins 10/1 I R Japan 2,255,097 9/1941 Berkebil 10/11 0 2,965,960 l2/ 1960 Gronemeyer 10/86 F [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu 3,264,853 8/1966 Huber 10/11 Seisakusho, Tokyo-To, Japan Primary Examiner-Richard J. Herbst [22] 1973 Attorney, Agent, or FirmT0ren and McGeady [2]] Appl. No.: 391,595

Related US. Application Data [57] IRACT i [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 260,895, June 8, 1972, Upsemng P a kmd of fi f mec ham?al abandone press, wherem a long-stock bar material mcludlng w1re material being fed is successively cut to a sized mate- [301 Foreign Application Priority Data rial with a predetermined length in the first station,

J l 8 1971 J 46 43272 such a sized cut material is held by a transfer mechaune apan nism in the second station, the transfer mechanism positions the cut material directly in front of an upsetting 72/10 5 1 die in the third station, the cut material is pset by the [58] g i die and a punch, the upset formed article is removed 10/86 F, 86 R, 11 R, ll E, 11 G; 83/42, 67, 102

from the die, and thus the entire operation is performed fully automatically in a single machine.

8 Clains, 20 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAUEZTW $931.41 1 mm us I! 1.6

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

PATENTEuwszmu sum can 16 FIG. 51

PATENIEDmszmm -3831'411 sum '05 at 16 FIG. 8

PATENIEUMIBZTIQH 3.831.411

sum new 16.

PAlimmuczmu sum 10x16 FIG. l2

PATENTEUwszmn I 8 sum mar 15 FIG. I3 I PATENIEDMIBBTIHH A 3,881.41 1

saw 1: r 1

FIG. l4

mnmenmz 3.931.411

saw nuns FIG. l6

PAIENIEU mszmn 3.831 .411

sum mar 16 PAIENIED v 3.831.411

' sum 16. or 16 FULLY AUTOMATIC UPSE'ITING MACHINE This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 260,895, filed June 8, 1972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION matic treating machine is wanted with the tendency tov save labor, whereby, in the upsetting machine, too, there is a strong demand for a machine which is completely automated from the feeding of material to the taking-out of the products.

The object of the present invention is to provide a I fully automatic upsetting machine which is effective and appropriate and which satisfies the abovementioned demand, and the invention has solved the above-mentioned problem. In the first place, in order to make the regulation of the mounting position of the punch which must be changed according to the quality, shape and size of the product at the upsetting, a ram is provided in a slide, and this ram is supported movably only in the axial direction in the slide, and at the same time providing an internal thread rotatable externally.

Next, in order to make it possible to feed the bar material including wire material intermittently, a reciprocating motion is obtained from a power shaft rotating continuously by means of a crank, and this motion is transmitted to a pair of feed rollers through a unidirectional clutch. In this case, since the amount of feed differs according to the kind of the product, a stroke adjusting screw is inserted in a series of lever and link mechanism so as to change the amount of movement.

Further, in order to prevent a slip from occurring in the feed rollers, one of the feed rollers is mounted, with the position fixed, on a rotating shaft subjected to a cam clutch which can rotate only in one direction, while the other feed roller is so adapted that an intensive clamping force for the bar material is exerted between two feed rollers by applying air pressure on a block which serves as a bearing. The feed roller at the fixed-position side is arranged at the lower side for receiving the weight of the bar material as the load (although this arrangement has relations with the cutting mechanism as will be described later), and the other roller, which is provided elastically with respect to the above-mentioned roller, is arranged at the upper side.

It is absolutely necessary for the cutting mechanism to keep the cut end of the material smooth when it is cut at a predetermined length and at the same time to cut it instantaneously for the improvement of the operating performance, so that a shearing system is adopted, wherein providing a fixed cutter having a hole for inserting the tip end of the bar material closely and a circular hole edge having a diameter appropriate for inserting the tip end portion of the bar material closely, forming this circular hole edge in a blade slidable horizontally so' that the cutter is slidable closely around the front surface of the hole of said fixed cutter, further causing to advance the blade by a shear slide which is adjustable to a constant stroke, using a cylinder utilizing air pressure for retreat, taking the returning position of the blade at a position where the hole of the fixed cutter and the circular hole edge are coincided, and the limited position of advance is taken above the axial line of the upsetting die so that the cut material can be taken out directly above the front surface of the upsetting die.

Next, when the cut material cut at the predetermined dimension is pushed out of the blade by a pusher pin driven synchronously, a pair of transfer fingers, located right and left, are adapted for receiving the cut material and further transferring it directly in front of the upsetting die. The transfer fingers are mounted on the slide which can be raised and lowered, and the right and left transfer fingers are caused to have an elastic clamping force with each other in order to receive the cut material being pushed. ln this case, the cut material is unavoidably mixed with those which are short of the length or those of terminal portions accompanied with portions which becomes to be end material as will be described later. This greatest problem at this situation, however, can be solved, when these are detected, by one of the transfer fingers being raised and retracted and thus made unable to clamp.

The pusher pin and a knock-out pin are utilized to take out the material after being cut and the product which have finished upsetting as will be described later, but the operation is synchronized with the raising and lowering motion of said transfer fingers. Especially in high speed operation, the synchronism of these operations becomes a great problem. For the settlement of this problem, it is necessary to synchronize the timing of the initiation and termination of the stroke for each of these material. For this purpose, a cam rotating synchronously is used and by making it follow thereto, the object was attained.

Next, there is another problem to determine the cutting length in order to obtain a cut material having said predetermined length from the bar material which is fed. The problem is that in the determination of the predetermined cut length, the treatment of end material, remaining at the rear end of a bar material whose length becomes short as compared with the diameter thereof, is unable to be neglected. That is, when the cutting is conducted in a condition where the length of the terminal portion is comparatively small as compared with the diameter of the bar material, it is inconvenient that the circular hole edge will be ruined in an extremely short time. ln case of cutting the remained material which is too short, with shearing by said blade, it is known that the cutter is broken, and this should be avoided. But, since the bar material which is fed continuously, this rear end is pushed by succeeding bar material, and besides since there is a portion, just in front of the end material, which will have a predetermined length, it is useless merely to arrange a stopper in front of said blade which becomes a cutter. Accordingly, in the present invention, for example, a number of predetermined length possible to be taken from one bar material is counted and an appropriate signal is made to produce when a counting number is reached one less than said counted number which can take the predetermined length, then the stopper having an abutting surface on which the tip end of the bar material abuts is rotated and displaced with said signal to release the abutting surface from the advancing course of the bar material so as to give two or three times as many feeds as the predetermined length, whereby a short portion which becomes the end material will not remain at the hole side of the fixed cutter. On the other hand, opening the gates of the take-out chute for unqualified cut material to discharge the falling unqualified cut material, and furthermore it is so adapted that a signal, which causes to start the gates and to raise one of the transfer fingers, is obtained from the stopper, whereby said problem can be solved.

Although the cut material having a rated constant length is fed at a predetermined position in front of the upset die, if the punch which is advancing successively and synchronously will push the cut material into the die, the punch may interfere with the transfer fingers and there will be a possibility of crushing the fingers. Accordingly, causing to project, from the center of the punch, a cut-material holding pin which is given a back pressure by air in the ram, and when the punch being advanced integrally with the ram, first the cut-material holding pin pushes the cut material, which is clamped by the transfer fingers, into the die, and then the transfer fingers are opened to right and left by the knock pin provided at the ram side, so that the front surface of the punch will pass the track of the transfer fingers directly after the opening of the transfer fingers, whereby the punch is made to approach the die. In this way, this problem is settled.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that all of operation of said parts are synchronized by cams rotated by a rotating driving force transmitted from a single drive shaft serving as a common driving shaft.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fully automatic upsetting machine which performs fully automatically beginning from the feeding of bar material including wire material, cutting the material at a predetermined length, upset forming, and up to taking out an article by means of a single machine.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine in which regulation of the mounting position of the punch for upset forming can be changed according to quality, shape and size of the article to be formed by the punch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine in which the feeding amount of the bar material including wire material by a pair of feed rollers can be changed, and at the same time a slip of feeding the bar material in the feed rollers is prevented from occurring.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine having a cutting mechanism in which at the time of cutting the sized ma terial from the bar material by a shearing system, the limited position for advance of the blade with the circular hole edge is appointed to be directly above the axial line of the upsetting die, and the returning position of the blade is appointed to be where the hole of the fixed cutter and the circular hole edge coincide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine having a transferring mechanism in the form of transfer fingers in which only the sized material can be transferred but the unqualified material cannot be, of the cut material pushed out from the inside of the blade in said cutting mechanism.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine in which the operation of a pusher pin for taking out the cut material from said blade and that of a knock-out pin for taking out the article upset formed by the upsetting die and the punch from said die are synchronized with the raising and lowering motion of said transfer fingers, thereby it is possible to obtain smooth and high speed operation.

Another objection of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine having means in which a chute for the article is opened in case of the sized material but a chute for the unqualified material is opened in case of said unqualified material, by means of a stopper mechanism for distinguishing the sized material from the unqualified material and the operation of said stopper mechanism.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine in which the sized material is pushed into the upsetting die by the cut material holding pin projecting from the center of the punch, before the punch advancing integrally with the ram, interferes with the transfer fingers when the sized material transferred by said transfer fingers is pushed into the upsetting die, and at the same time the transfer fingers are opened by the knock-out pin provided in the side of the ram, preventing the punch and the transfer fingers from interfering with each other.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic upsetting machine in which all operations of said parts are synchronized by cams rotated by a rotating driving force which is transmitted from a single drive shaft serving as a common driving shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view, broken away in part, showing a fully automatic upsetting machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line II-Il in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of stations as viewed from the line Ill-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line IV--IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section of the cam mechanism and the feed roller transmission;

FIG. 7 is a view seen in a direction of the arrow VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation of a feed roller box;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation showing parts of push link, transfer link and knockout link;

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a construction of the pusher link and the transfer link;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the knock-out link;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation of a cutting mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal, sectional side view of a stopper mechanism;

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal, sectional side view showing the upper portion of a chute;

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal, sectional side view showing a construction of the drawing portion of the cutting mechanism;

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation of a driving cam for cutting and a cam for link return;

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal, sectional side elevation of transfer finger part;

FIG. 18 is the front elevation of the same;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the same, and

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal, sectional elevation of a slide adjusting portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will now be described referring to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the energy of a flywheel 1, which receives a torque transmitted through belt from a motor is transmitted to a drive shaft 3 through a clutch 2.

The clutch 2 is engageable by pressing a facing 5 supported on a drive center 4 fixed on the driving shaft 3 against the flywheel 1 by air pressure.

Another drive center 6 is fixed at the other end portion of the drive shaft 3, and a brake 9 is provided for stopping the drive shaft 3 by pressing a facing 7 supported on the drive center 6 against a frame 8 by air pressure.

On the other hand, a pinion 10 is provided on the driving shaft 3, and the pinion is engaged with a gear wheel 11.

At an eccentric portion 13 of a rotating shaft 12, on one end of which the gear 11 is fixed, a connecting rod 15 is secured through a bush 14.

The connecting rod 15 is connected with a slide 17 through a pin 16.

A bevel gear 18 is fixed on the other end of the rotating shaft 12, and a bevel gear 19 having a small diameter is engaged with the bevel gear 18, and the rotating power of the driving shaft 3 is transmitted to a shaft 20 which has said bevel gear 19 mounted on it at one end thereof.

The shaft 20 is divided into two portions but is connected by a coupling 21 at the intermediate portion, and a pinion 22 fixed at the other end (refer to FIGS. 12 aNd 15) is engaged with a gear 24 on a shaft 23.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 15, the shaft 23 has a bevel gear 25 at the end portion, and a torque is transmitted to a shaft 27 which has a bevel gear 26 at one end which engages with the bevel gear 25.

On the other end of the shaft 27, there is fixed a crank 29 having a pin 28 which is eccentric from the wheel center of the shaft 27 (shown in FIG. 6 in detail), and a link 30 is connected to the pin 28.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the link 30 is connected to a lever 32 by a pin 31, and the lever 32 is splineconnected to a shaft 33, and on the shaft 33, a guide lever 34 is fixed.

On the guide lever 34, a stroke-adjusting screw 35 is fixed, rotatable only in the longitudinal direction, and on this stroke adjusting screw, a slider 36 is screwed which is slidable only longitudinally in the guide lever 34.

A roller 37 is mounted on the slider 36, and this roller 37 is rollable within a C-groove of a lever 39 fixed on a shaft 38, and as shown in FIG. 7 to this lever 39, one end of a link 41 is connected by means of a pin 42.

The other end of the link 41 is connected to a lever 45 fixed on a shaft 43 through a unidirectional rotary cam clutch 44 by means of a pin 46.

As shown in FIG. 8, theshaft 43 is connected to a shaft 49 of a gear 48 through a coupling 47, and the gear is engaged with a gear 53 fixed on a shaft 52 of a lower feed roller 51 of a pair of upper and lower feed rollers 50, 51 each having a round groove.

The end portion of the shaft 52 is mounted on a box 55, and the box 55 accommodates a unidirectional rotary cam clutch 54 and is fixed on the frame 8.

A bearing 56 of the upper feed roller is pushed downwardly by a piston 58 of an air cylinder 57, and is maintained in a floating state by being elastically abutted against a bearing portion 59 of said shaft 52 at the box by means of a spring 60, but the amount of the floating is only such a degree that it can clamp firmly a bar material being fed, and also that the engagement between a gear 63 fixed on a shaft 62 of the feed roller 50 and said gear 53 will not be disengaged.

Next, on the shaft 23, a cam 64 for cut-driving and a cam 65 for return are fixed integrally as shown in FIGS. 12 and 15.

The cam 64 contacts with a cam follower 68 of a lever 67 supported on a shaft 66, and the cam 65 contacts with a cam follower 69 of the same lever 67.

Another roller 70 of the lever 67 contacts with the outer end of a shear slide 71 supported reciprocably in a horizontal direction.

A blade 72 is abutted at the inner end of the shear slide 71, and a circular hole edge 73 having a hole diameter for closely passing through the bar material 61 fed intermittently by feed rollers 50, 51 is provided on the blade 72.

On the other hand, the end portion of a piston rod 75 of an air cylinder 74 for return provided on the opposite side of the shear slide 71 is in contact with the blade 72, thus constantly applying the returning force.

The circular hole edge 73 is so provided that it is in a position where the bar material 61 coincides with the axial line when it is in the return position of the shear slide 71, that is, when the blade 72 is in the return position as shown in FIG. 4, and a bush 77 having a guide hole 76 for the bar material conforming with the circular hole edge 73 is fixed on the frame 8.

A fixed cutter 78 is provided in front of the bush 77, and the shear cutting of the bar material 61 is effected by the fixed cutter 78 and the circular hole edge 73 of said blade which moves in a perpendicular direction sliding close to the fixed cutter 78.

When the blade 72 reaches to its advance limit (the stroke of the shear slide), the axial line of the circular hole edge 73 conforms with just above the axial line of the swaging die 79 (refer to FIG. 3).

In FIG. 3 the position of the circular hole edge 73 in the restoring position of the blade to start the cutting of bar material 61 having been fed is designated as station A, the position of the circular hole edge 73 at the advance limit position of the blade 72 as station B, and the central position of the die 79 as station C.

Rearward of the station B, there is provided a pusher pin 80 which can be projected (refer to FIG. 4), and at the station C there are provided a projecting member 83 elastically supported by a spring 82 at the deep por- 

1. A fully automatic upsetting machine, comprising a frame, a pressing mechanism having a ram, the stroke of which is freely adjustable, an upsetting die, a feeding mechanism for the intermittent feeding of bar material along a path of travel, a cutting mechanism arranged in the path of travel of the bar material, means associated with said cutting mechanism for cutting the bar material and arranged to receive signals for selecting the lengths of bar material cut for cutting predetermined lengths and for cutting the leading and trailing ends of the bar material at lengths other than the predetermined lengths, said means associated with said cutting mechanism arranged to sense lengths cut at less than the predetermined lengths, first transfer means for moving the cut predetermined lengths to said upsetting die, a second transfer means for collecting lengths of the bar material cut at other than the predetermined lengths, said feeding mechanism and said first transfer means mounted on said frame, a rotating shaft mounted on said frame and having cams thereon in operative association with said feeding mechanism and said first transfer means for driving said feeding mechanism and said first transfer means synchronously at high speed, and a single drive shaft arranged to drive said rotating shaft.
 2. A fully automatic upsetting machine, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a punch is mounted at one end of said ram and is arranged to be inserted into said upsetting die, said ram having an internally threaded portion open at its end opposite the end mounting said punch, a slide extending in the axial direction of said ram and mounting said ram so that it is movable only in its axial direction, and externally threaded member stationarily mounted relative to said slide, said externally threaded member being rotatable and disposed in threaded engagement with the internally threaded portion of said ram so that said ram can be displaced axially in said slide by rotating said externally threaded member.
 3. A fully automatic upsetting machine, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said feeding mechanism comprises a pair of feed rollers arranged to clamp, support and guide the bar material in an elastic manner, a first shaft arranged to mount and rotate one of said feed rollers, a second shaft arranged to drive said first shaft, a first link and lever arrangement connected to said second shaft, a guide lever, a stroke adjusting Screw fixed in said guide lever and rotatable in the longitudinal direction thereof, a slider screwed to said adjusting screw and slidable in the longitudinal direction of said guide lever, means connecting said first link and lever arrangement to said slider, and a unidirectional cam shaft connecting said second shaft to said first link and lever arrangement.
 4. A fully automatic upsetting machine, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cutting mechanism comprises a blade, a circular hole edge in said blade arranged to be lined with and to receive the bar material as it is fed by said feeding mechanism, the axis of said upsetting die spaced laterally from the axis of the path of travel of the bar material fed by said feeding mechanism, means associated with said blade for displacing it perpendicularly from the axis of the path of travel of the bar material to a position with the axis of the circular hole edge spaced from and aligned with the axis of said upsetting die, said means for displacing said blade including means for returning said blade so that its circular hole edge is aligned with the path of travel of the bar material.
 5. A fully automatic upsetting machine, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means associated with said cutting mechanism comprises a stopper mechanism pivotally mounted in the path of the bar material and located downstream from the circular hole edge in said blade, said stopper mechanism arranged to receive selective signals for pivotally positioning it in the path of the bar material, said stopper mechanism having a first abutting surface for establishing the predetermined cut length of the bar material when the bar material contacts said first abutting surface, spring means associated with said first abutting surface for biasing it in the direction counter to the direction of movement of the bar material by said feeding mechanism so that when a predetermined length is cut said biasing action is overcome, switch means associated with said first abutting surface and being actuated when said spring means are overcome in response to the cutting of a predetermined length of the bar material, said stopper mechanism having a second abutting surface thereon arranged in response to a signal to be displaced into the path of the bar material for cutting a length greater than the predetermined length, and said second transfer means includes a take-out chute arranged to be opened to receive a length of the bar material other than a predetermined length when said second abutting surface is aligned in the path of the bar material.
 6. A fully automatic upsetting machine, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first transfer means comprises a pair of right and left transfer fingers positioned for elastically gripping a predetermined cut length of the bar material, and means associated with said transfer fingers for rendering them inoperative when said cutting mechanism cuts a length of the bar material which is other than the predetermined length.
 7. A fully automatic upsetting machine, comprising a frame, a pressing mechanism having a ram, the stroke of which is freely adjustable, an upsetting die, a feeding mechanism for the intermittent feeding of bar material along a path of travel, a cutting mechanism arranged in the path of travel of the bar material, means associated with said cutting mechanism for cutting the bar material and arranged to receive signals for selecting the lengths of bar material cut for cutting predetermined lengths and for cutting the leading and trailing ends of the bar material at lengths other than the predetermined lengths, said means associated with said cutting mechanism arranged to sense lengths cut at less than the predetermined lengths, first transfer means for moving the cut predetermined lengths to said upsetting die, a second transfer means for collecting lengths of the bar material cut at other than the predetermined lengths, said feeding mechanism and said first transfer means mounted on said frame, a roTating shaft mounted on said frame and having cams thereon in operative association with said feeding mechanisms and said first transfer means for driving said feeding mechanisms and said first transfer means synchronously at high speed, a single drive shaft arranged to drive said rotating shaft, a pusher pin arranged to displace predetermined cut lengths of bar material from said cutting mechanism, a knock-out pin arranged to displace an upset formed article from said upsetting die, said first transfer means includes a slide and transfer members mounted on said slide for moving predetermined cut lengths of the bar material from said cutting mechanism to said upsetting die, and means disposed between said cams on said rotating shaft and said pusher pin, said knock-out pin and said slide for controlling the stroke of each.
 8. A fully automatic upsetting machine, comprising a frame, a pressing mechanism having a ram, the stroke of which is freely adjustable, an upsetting die, a feeding mechanism for the intermittent feeding of bar material along a path of travel, a cutting mechanism arranged in the path of travel of the bar material, means associated with said cutting mechanism 